Motorists who travel along Leigh Road and Wimborne Road West towards the Canford Bottom roundabout have been warned to expect more traffic queues over the coming weeks.

Work will begin on the latest section of the sustainable transport improvements on 16 August.

Following the successful completion of the first sections of cycle and pedestrian lanes on Wimborne Road West, work is now progressing well on the improvements up to the Hayes Lane junction and the entrance to the new Quarterjack Park development.  Work will now begin on the last sections between Hayes Lane / Quarterjack Park development and the Brook Road Junction.

During this time, temporary traffic signals will be in operation along the works on Leigh Road. Because of this, traffic queues may build up on Leigh Road during peak travel times, which may tail back to Brook Road causing problems around the new traffic light controlled junction.  As a result, the new Brook Road lights will be turned off for the duration of the works and a temporary three-way traffic light system installed in their place.  These temporary lights will come into operation on 16 August and will be in place for eight weeks.

Once fully completed, the cycle lane will run 2.3km along Wimborne Road West and Leigh Road from the Canford Bottom Roundabout to the Brook Road Junction and will form a branch of the 27km sustainable transport route linking Poole Town Centre, Wimborne and Ferndown.  It will also fill a missing section on the Castleman Trailway, part of the National Cycle Network, which links Dorset to Ringwood and the New Forest.

The work is being funded mostly from a central government grant from the DfT’s Transforming Cities Fund (TCF). A joint bid by BCP Council and Dorset Council was one of 12 regions in England to secure a share of the government’s TCF based on their commitment to driving economic growth through investment in public and sustainable transport. Additional funding has also been provided by the two councils, local public transport companies and regional business development organisations giving a total programme budget of over £100m.